July 21, 2014 - pictures...

Sadly, we didn't receive a letter this week so we decided to share some pictures. When Sister Johnson first arrived in the mission field, she had written a letter home saying how the Czech missionaries received a tour of Prague while the Slovak missionaries were put on a bus to continue their journey to their destination.  Seeing how she was transferred to Czech she and her companions asked permission to do the Prague tour during her preparation day.  Enjoy the pics.

PRAGUE!!!!

I'm really here!

 

Companions...Sister Johnson, Sister Steglich, and Sister Smith

So supposedly it's good luck to rub this dog and make a wish...i hope it comes true!! ;)

July 14, 2014-Mlada Boleslav

Ahoj!!

So this past week was great! We had all sorts of adventures and lots of fun!

So on preparation day we went to Jicin and hung out. We played in the park for a while and then hiked to a little chapel on a hill. It was crazy hot and humid and we were all dying.

Tuesday was hectic...we had district meeting in Liberec but the bus connections were awful. So we took a bus to Jicin and then the elders drove us to Liberec. It was great that they could take us but 4 hours of traveling is never fun. But I absolutely love Liberec!! It's so pretty and has a wonderful namestie for contacting. We did a singing display on a corner and it was the perfect spot! We had 3 people out and 4 singing and we were able to cover a large area with such a large district.

Wednesday was a little less busy. We had an appointment with a less active. It was good but I think he doesn't quite have his priorities straight...he wants to learn about church history and pioneers but he won't even come to church or read regularly in the Book of Mormon.

Thursday was on of my favorite days. Mainly because we found a Slovak!! Not only that but L is from Kosice!  He was really nice and we set up a meeting with him. He's here for work and will return to Kosice eventually but in the meantime we can teach him!

Friday, we met with J and E. It was a really good lesson trying to help them understand our purpose as missionaries and then invited them to learn more about Christ. They said it was a lot to think about and that they'd be willing so we have a meeting with them on Wednesday.

Saturday was amazing because we went to a baptism!! The elders investigator, A, was baptized and it was wonderful! Sunday was cool because A was confirmed. Both ordinances were performed by recent converts (as in converted within the last year). That's amazing because it forms ties and connections within the branch and not with missionaries.

And today I'm in Prague!! We asked Prezident if we could go for a pday because it's just as close as Jicin and I've never been on Prague walk! So next week I'll tell you all about it and send pics.

 I love you all!!

S laskou,

Sestra WhitneySarah Johnson <3

July 7, 2014 - Mlada Boleslav

Ahoj!! 

My week was really long and crazy!! We were everywhere!! 

So I've already told you about our vylet on Monday. Tuesday was interesting because both Sister Steglich and Sister Smith were sick. They both took naps while I cleaned out our Area Book and called people to set up our week. 

Wednesday was awesome because we had district meeting with a guest: Prezident McConkie! He was interviewing the elder's investigator, A (she's getting baptized on Saturday!). He also interviewed everyone else. He interviewed us while the rest were district contacting and during my interview, the district got shut down by the police! They told Elder Davis, our district leader, it was against the law; and even though we had a document stating our rights, we were told to leave.  It was frustrating because what we were doing was legal but we didn't want to cause a problem so instead we did our district finding "creatively"....  

Afterwards, Prezident gave us sisters a ride to MB (Mlada Boleslav)...but his GPS took us a different way so we got kind of lost in the Czech countryside! It was certainly an adventure! Thursday, we were busy and the bus times were not in our favor. We visited a less active member who lives outside of MB and had to run for our bus in order to make another appointment. Also the STLs came for an exchange! I stayed in MB while Sestry Steglich and Smith went to Praha. The next day Sister Hicken and I taught some lessons, had apartment checks, went to lunch with the Munros and went to Prague to switch back!

Some questions and answers:

1. Does the branch meet in Mlada Boleslav or a different city?

A. First off, background story: So there used to be branches in Mlada Boleslav, Jicin, and Nova Paka but they were combined in an attempt to form a ward--the end result was a lot of people went inactive. That's one reason we have so many less actives. The branch is in Jicin currently, which is a 40 min bus ride from MB.

2. Why was the BBQ held in Jicin?

A. It was actually held in a little village out side of Nova Paka, about 20 minutes away from Jicin. It was at the home of a member. And they have this BBQ yearly.

3. How large of an area does the branch cover? 

A. Well a pretty large area. We sisters cover Mlada Boleslav and surrounding villages and the elders cover Jicin and Nova Paka and surrounding villages (they have a bit of a larger area but they also have a car).

4. Have you become more familiar with other members?

A. sorta...it's really hard because all the active member families minus one live in Jicin or NP. But we're going to start visiting members on Sundays after church and just take a later bus home.

5. What are the other two cities that your district covers?

A. Our district covers two branches: Liberec and Jicin and three main cities: Liberec, Jicin and Mlada Boleslav

6. How is L progressing? 

A. We had a great meeting with her on Wednesday morning. Originally we had planned to teach the Plan of Salvation but we only had 30 min before we had to catch a bus to Jicin for district meeting. We decided that we would watch the restoration film instead but she arrived late and we didn't have time. Luckily there just happened to be a  Family Proclamation on the table (we used it the day before and I didn't put it up when the lesson was done). My companionship and I all focused in on it at the same time and I just reached for it and said, "Today we wanted to share about God's plan for families." It was inspired because it was just what she needed and was a wonderful lesson!  She has invited other family members so next week we may be meeting in her home with her family.

Well that's all folks! I'll send more pics next week! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

S Laskou,

Sestra WhitneySarah Johnson <3

June 6, 2014-Mlada Boleslav

Hello, hello everyone!!

This past week was pretty amazing...found and taught some awesome folks!

Okay so the note worthy things that happened this week:

Monday we had an awesome lesson with a lady named L.  She's really cool and classy--so open and friendly!  We had a great, slightly scattered lesson but she wanted to meet again. Our next meeting went well and she had kept her commitment (trying to pray at home). She's wonderful and we have another lesson tomorrow (plan of salvation!! yay!) So I'll keep you posted.

Tuesday we had district meeting here in Boleslav. That was really fun especially because we had a singing display! Our district spans 3 cities so we rotate hosting district meeting (which really just means we pick what sort of district finding we want to do and where we'll go for lunch). Sometimes it's a bummer having our district so far away...we only find as a district once a week and we never see each other!

The rest of the week we did normal missionary stuff...found people, taught them, baptized them (okay we didn't baptize anyone this week but the Liberec elders did :D).

On Saturday we had a branch bbq...in a city outside of Jicin so it was about an hour from us. We worked out travel arrangements with the elders but somehow things got mixed up. The elders were going to give us a ride home but first they had to take a less active and her family to Jicin and then come back for us (so it's a 40 drive round trip!). We really couldn't impose at the bbq any longer so we started walking back. It was wonderful fun. We walked through the prettiest forest and sang hymns.  When we hit the main road, the elders were on their way.

Something else awesome from Saturday: I got my Czech tag!! Yay!! I'm a Czech missionary now!

Sunday was also great! (Though I did get asked to play the piano again...I'm running out of hymns I can play!)  It was sister Steglich's bday so we celebrated after church. Elder Burton (our former AP) came with his family and so we invited them to eat with us. It was really fun and it was great to see Elder Burton one last time before he went home. He's an excellent elders--he's really nice and so helpful.

Today we went on a district vylet! We had a blast but it was crazy...we took a bus to Jicin and then a train to Tronsky. Hiked up this huge hill...well mountain really ;). Only to get to the top to find...the castle is closed on Monday! The elders had received some bad information but the hike and experience was fun! I'm so tired (mainly cause I'm out of shape) but I really enjoyed it.

 I loved your miracle!! (editor's note: We went to a family reunion which was about 950 miles away from our home.  Upon our return trip, we began to experience car troubles.We were still in the mountains.....we prayed for the car to operate so we could arrive home safely--we had a daughter who had to be back home the next morning so it was very important for us to meet our deadline.  Heavenly Father answered our prayers and we made it home.) Thank you for sharing. I have such a huge testimony that God really answers our prayers!

 I miss you bunches and love you lots!! I hope you have a great week and remember to be good member missionaries!

s laskou,

Sestra WhitneySarah Johnson<3